false 43052 0 0 1342413 0802139604 9780802139603 9 <![CDATA[Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182873090m/1342413.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182873090s/1342413.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1342413.Tobacco_A_Cultural_History_of_How_an_Exotic_Plant_Seduced_Civilization 3.82 45 Tobacco is a sweeping cultural history of the world's most prevalent addiction, and it's probably the best book ever written on its subject. Gately begins in pre-Columbian America, where the natives made tobacco "their most popular gift to the rest of humanity," and continues through all the cantankerous smoking litigation of the 1990s. The story touches on just about every subject imaginable: tobacco in literature, the movies, and society. It would be wrong to call Gately an advocate of smoking, but he clearly takes pleasure, for example, in noting that Hitler's Nazis launched one of history's most vigorous anti-smoking initiatives. The book is full of delicious trivia: Many of Shakespeare's contemporaries smoked, but there's no evidence that the Bard himself did, and none of his plays make any mention of smoking; he "kept his writing a smoke-free zone." Nevertheless, reports Gately with a smirk, there is "archaeological evidence proving that smoking was going on around the Shakespeare household in Stratford-upon-Avon during his life." Smoking aficionados won't want to miss Tobacco, and it's a much healthier gift for them than a box of cigars. --John Miller]]> 43052 3.81 88 22 2002 1430688 1592403034 9781592403035 10 <![CDATA[Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1430688.Drink_A_Cultural_History_of_Alcohol 3.82 34 Salt, an intoxicating tour of the cause of and solution to all of life's problems: alcohol.

Alcohol is a fundamental part of western culture and an essential element of Christianity. It is the most controversial part of our diet, simultaneously nourishing and intoxicating. We have been drinking as long as we have been human, and for better or worse, alcohol has shaped our civilization.

Drink investigates the history of this Jekyll and Hyde of fluids, tracing mankind’s love/hate relationship with alcohol from ancient Egypt to the present day. Along the way it scrutinizes the drinking habits of presidents, prophets, and barbarian hordes, and features drinkers as diverse as Homer, Ernest Hemingway, William Shakespeare, Al Capone, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.

Drink further documents the contribution of alcohol to the birth and growth of the United States, taking in the War of Independence, the Pennsylvania Whiskey revolt, the slave trade, and the failed experiment of national Prohibition. Finally, it provides a history of the world’s most famous drinks—and the world’s most famous drinkers. Enthusiasts of craft brews and fine wines will discover the origins of their favorite tipples. Packed with trivia and colorful characters, Drink amounts to a sloshed history of the world: Better make it a double.]]> 43052 3.81 88 22 2008 2048840 0743208137 9780743208130 1 <![CDATA[La Diva Nicotina]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2048840.La_Diva_Nicotina 3.67 3 43052 3.81 88 22 2001 1430689 0743478606 9780743478601 0 <![CDATA[Planet Party]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183526461m/1430689.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183526461s/1430689.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1430689.Planet_Party 4.00 1 Planet Party is a tour of the world's greatest festivals -- a multicultural voyage of celebration across the continents and through the seasons. Its itinerary includes such famous events as the Munich Oktoberfest, Trinidad Carnival and the running of the bulls in Pamplona, and also lesser known, if equally exciting spectacles like Derbyshire's 1000-a-side Shrovetide football match, and the Burning Man Project, a fire festival in a remote American desert.

In addition to providing an impression of what it feels like to be at each event, Planet Party examines the history and philosophies behind them, exploring matters as diverse as ideal beauty, the Hindu concept of rebirth and the origins of beer drinking.

Stimulating and richly coloured, Planet Party is an erudite study of our love of celebration.

]]> 43052 3.81 88 22 2004 6987695 1436201322 9781436201322 0 <![CDATA[Drink]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637360m/6987695.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637360s/6987695.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6987695-drink 0.0 0 43052 3.81 88 22 2008 1773531 0812568052 9780812568059 0 <![CDATA[Heathcliff Life-Can: Out on Limb-Cn]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1773531.Heathcliff_Life_Can_Out_on_Limb_Cn 0.0 0 43052 3.81 88 22 1998 1430690 0749320281 9780749320287 0 <![CDATA[The Assessor]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183526461m/1430690.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183526461s/1430690.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1430690.The_Assessor 0.0 0 43052 3.81 88 22 1996